Here a little dip

Writers: Corrin, Steel
Date Posted: 19th April 2025

Characters: Rh'din, M'kadja
Description: Trader and Holdless, two young men meet in the baths and talk about the weyr, dragons and luck.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 9 of Turn 12

Rh'din

M'kadja

Steam filled the communal bathing cavern. It was welcomingly warm and envelopingly humid. It smelled of herbs and sweet sand--nothing like the stagnant reek of river mud or the sweat-choked caves Akadja had spent the last few months in. With a blissful sigh, he sank deeper into the pool. He hadn’t meant to make a habit of bathing, but ever since he’d arrived at the weyr, he’d come every day without fail.

How could he not? Hot water, deep enough to soak in; real heat, not the kind you chased with a kettle and a sponge. No one was shouting at him to move on, no one was charging him a mark to splash off the grime. Here, he could sink up to his chin and let the warmth work its slow magic on the bruises that painted his ribs from the brawl the other day.

They ached still, a dull throb beneath the surface of his skin, but the water helped.

“I could get used to this…” he muttered to no one in particular.

"The baths are _always_ nice." Rh'din responded, and sank into said bath with a groan. "_ Especially when you're using _all_ your muscles. Baby dragons are a lot, even when they're not so baby."

Akadja cracked one eye open at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and smirked faintly. "Yeah, I'd say they're _'not so baby.'_ That gold one that came tromping through camp yesterday was twice the size of any draybeast."

_That_ had been a chaotic morning. It never took much to wake Akadja, and the screams and shouts when the 'baby' dragons invaded had certainly done the trick. He has rushed out in time to see the gold one rip a hole in lcasu's tent. The casual display of power had been pretty chilling, but the Akadja got the sense that most of the weyrfolk thought it was.... funny. "I take it you're a baby dragonrider or something?"

"I'm Rh'din. Blue rider, formerly of the traders." Rh'din responded. He didn't, however, mention Paskith's name. He was more careful than that.

“Formerly of the traders, huh? You get kicked out or something?” Akadja snorted-- low, skeptical, but not unfriendly. His voice was wry, lazy in the way of someone soaking sore muscles in blissfully hot water, but there was a keen glint of interest in his eyes all the same.

"Nothing so drastic." Rh'din responded, stretching a little bit, enjoying the heat on his own sore body. "I was a Trader, until a dragonrider happened by. And I'm the oldest in my family, so when they said I might get a dragon, I decided to try, at least once."

He grinned a little bit at the memory of Paskith's first meeting.

Akadja snorted again, but there was less humor in it this time. “Must be nice,” he said dryly, fanning his arms through the water around him. “Having someone just say you might be worth something and people actually listen... ‘Course, you were already lucky. Born to respected Traders with a route, a name, a badge.”

The corner of his mouth twitched, not a smile-- something more bitter and fleeting. “I was born in a caravan too.” There was no point lying about it. After plucking them out of the caves, everyone at the weyr knew what they were. “But we weren’t Traders, just Holdless. And dragonriders don’t Search folk like us.”

His gaze finally flickered back to Rh’din. “So what was it, then? What’d they see in you? What made you worth taking in?”

"Paskith wanted me." Rh'din's expression softened, briefly looking nothing more than sappy, before he rallied. "I'm a strong worker, and I was willing to choose a Craft." He responded, giving the question more thought. "And the rules at the Weyr are different, but they're still _fair_."

"Fair?" scoffed Akadja. "If you think things are fair, then I've got a dragon egg to sell you."

He scooped up a handful of steaming water and let it pour slowly through his fingers, marveling darkly at how the pool still kept its heat. Fair. Ha. "I've worked sharding hard my whole life. I've had to. And I sure as shit woulda been 'willing to choose a craft'-- but no master wants to take a chance on someone like me. They might let me be a laborer. Chop wood or haul water. But train me? Give me one of their precious apprenticeships when they could give it to someone with coin or their own Blood? No flaming way."

He glared at the other young man over his still raised hands. "I asked what got you in, so alright--they probably like the idea of someone who can work hard if they don't Impress--but don't tell me that it's _fair_ here. You got lucky. If you were Holdless a dragonrider would never have looked twice at you. That's not _fair_."

"Aye.... it probably _was_ a fair bit of luck too." Rh'din responded, made an apologetic sort of gesture. "Apologies if I gave offense." He added. "You're right; the Search dragon could have just as easily not flown past, or not chosen me... my Caravan never stays one place for too long."

Somewhat placated, Akadja exhaled slowly through his nose, dropping his hands and sinking back into the pool until the water lapped just under his chin again.

Rh'din considered. "The circumstances might not have been great that brought you here. And I'm sorry for that... But you _are_ here. And being offered what we can."

Another consideration. "Do you _want_ to stay? I know my family doesn't like staying too long in one place, but... I don't know what your band does. Or wants."

"Do I want to stay where I can get a hot bath and three meals a day? All I can eat?" Akadja barked a laugh. "You can sharding bet I do-- until I don't..."

He shot a look at Rh'din, almost furtive. "They aren't _my_ band. I've only been with them a couple months, but you're right. I never stay in one place long... How do you stand it? You must have been here a while now with your not-so-baby dragon."

"My lad needed a lot of attention, especially in the early months." Rh'din responded, letting out a sigh. "And he still does, but at least now I've a bit more time to myself, and out of lessons. I guess you could say I've been too busy to really notice."

He paused, then added, "And when he's bigger, we'll be able to go wherever we want, so it’d be _almost_ the same thing." His expression softened again. "He really is the best."

}:I am a very good blue.:{ Paskith agreed.

“Shards, you’re really gone for him, huh? I'd heard about the dragon and rider bond, but..." Akadja laughed incredulously. "You talk like the sun shines out of his ass."

“I’ve Impressed myself, you know--" And he seemed proud to point it out. "I have a flit, a smart little blue. He’s useful, don’t get me wrong, but he’s certainly not ‘The Best,’ even if he _could_ blink me to Benden and back. I feed him, he does tricks. It’s a good trade.”

"He's mine, and I'm his." Rh'din responded, with a little bit of a chuckle. "He's part of me. Like... something I didn't even know was missing."

A pause, then the weyrling continued. "You have a flit?" Rh'din asked, interested. "What's his name? What tricks can he do?"

“My flit is…” Akadja glanced around the chamber, before shrugging. “He’s out exploring right now. His name is Dagger. He was born about the size of one.” And the name had seemed Hard and Strong. “He comes when I whistle. Can carry messages between me and my brother. If I toss a stone, he’ll bring it back.” There were a few other ‘tricks’ that he could do, but no more that Akadja wanted to share.

“All in all, it’s useful having a flit,” he said as he relaxed against the smooth edge of the pool. “And I guess it’s neat when he sends over his little impressions and feelings, but they’re sure as shit not mine. He’s not like _‘a part of me’_. You sound like some sappy old ballad.” The words lacked bite. He seemed more amused and amazed than anything. Traders were, in his experience, the second most practical people on Pern, beside the Holdless. And here was this twitterpated fool...

"I don't know how _else_ to describe it." Rh'din responded, with a little bit of a helpless shrug. "Like... realizing that you've made the best deal ever, only _better_. I'm never going to be alone again. Paskith will always be there, and he loves me. He picked me. How can I _not_ love him right back?"

He let out another sort of chuckle. "I could maybe introduce you, later. ...Paskith says he would like to meet a flit, anyway." Another studied shrug. "He's been curious about all the tents at least."

The relationship still sounded too ballad-perfect to Akadja, but the offer piqued his interest. “Sure, I’d like to see what the fuss is all about. Not by the tents though, they’ve been through enough.”

Last updated on the April 25th 2025

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Here a little dip